Kael withdrew the mana, and the two could no longer see. The bizarre, chaotic spirits vanished from their sight.
"I…I…I…" Marin opened her mouth, wanting to speak, but her mind was in chaos, unable to form words.
"Relax, calm down, don't be afraid." Kael patted her shoulder, helping her settle.
After a while, Marin finally calmed enough to speak a full sentence. "Renjou-kun, what is going on?"
"This is the truth of the world." Kael said calmly: "What you saw were wandering spirits. But the world isn't only spirits—gods, yokai, and onmyoji exist too. They're simply hidden from the public eye. There's an invisible net separating the ordinary from the extraordinary. Ordinary people may live their whole lives without ever seeing or entering that world. But that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It has always been there."
Saki said softly: "So Renjou-kun, everything you said was true—the actress, the gods."
Marin regained her composure, looking into Kael's eyes. Realizing there was a hidden side to the world, her curiosity grew. It was natural. Living in the modern world, who hasn't seen movies or novels about magic or superpowers? Who hasn't dreamed of such abilities? People don't discuss it because they don't encounter it. But with Kael before them, curiosity magnified.
Kael noticed and briefly recounted his encounter with Mai. When they heard Mai's presence had been stolen by a god, nearly erasing her, they couldn't help but complain. "Gods can be that despicable? That's awful!"
It shattered their image of gods. Kael found it normal. "Who told you gods are all good? Reading myths doesn't mean you understand them. Stories are just stories, no matter how beautiful. Real gods are far more complex. Among them are righteous and evil, benevolent and malevolent. Sakurajima-san was simply unlucky to meet an evil god."
He then explained the fox god's past deeds. When they learned the fox god treated humans like crops, harvesting them repeatedly for faith, their illusions broke. Such a god was vile.
But when they heard Kael had killed the god, their eyes nearly popped. Saki gasped.
Marin was incredulous. "Renjou-kun, you actually killed a god?"
"What of it?" Kael said indifferently. "Japan claims eight million gods—even a doll can become a tsukumogami. They sound lofty, but they're not much stronger than humans. Modern firepower can kill many so-called gods."
Marin struggled to accept this. "True, but you killed one with a shrine." She knew the difference between shrine gods and those without. She looked at Kael with concern.
"Are you sure it's fine? That was a god."
"Don't worry, it's fine." Kael patted his chest. Not only fine, but beneficial. He even wanted to devour more gods—it was faster than cultivation. But he kept that thought to himself. He knew if he hunted gods recklessly, Takamagahara would pursue him. Some things can be done once or twice, but not repeatedly. Though regretful, he valued his life. Still, if another chance came, he wouldn't refuse. Gods were too nourishing. He was almost addicted.
Meanwhile, Marin and Saki, reassured he wasn't bluffing, relaxed. Then they pressed him to explain more about the extraordinary world.
Kael said: "Actually, I don't know much. I stumbled into it myself." He lied, claiming he had inherited manuals from his ancestors, and through cultivating them, learned of this world.
Marin's eyes lit up. "So your ancestors were part of that world, which is why you have manuals."
Kael nodded, letting it stand.
Marin looked envious. "How wonderful. I wish I had such ancestors."
Saki nodded too, as if it were an honor.
Kael's eyes gleamed. "If you want to cultivate, I can provide manuals. Among my inherited texts are some specifically for women."
Marin and Saki exchanged glances, then asked together: "Really?"
Kael nodded.
In his mind were indeed many manuals only women could practice. For example, Heavenly Charm Demonic Art, a yin-harvesting technique. Women who practiced it became promiscuous, draining men to stay youthful and immortal. Kael would never give them such corrupt arts—it would harm them.
Another was the Manual of Ruthlessness. Opposite to the Heavenly Charm Art, it stripped away human emotions during cultivation, turning practitioners into cold, emotionless beings—an iceberg without feeling.